Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Review: Naked in Death by J.D. Robb

Naked in Death by JD Robb
Published by Berkley, 1995

In a world of danger and deception, she walks the line--between seductive passion and scandalous murder...Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer.  In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all--and knows her survival depends on her instincts.  And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire--and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation.  But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and its up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about--except the addictive hunger of needing his touch.

Okay, this part is for my mom: You were right, I should have read these books a long time ago...I am sorry for not listening to you.  I should never doubt you as time has shown that you are (almost) always right.  Now, on to the review...

As you can see, these books have been highly recommended to me by my mom for years...I finally read the first one and man.  I should have listened to my mother.  This book was fantastic (and so was the second...and the third but that is for another review).  J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) can sure write some fantastic characters--Eve Dallas is a very strong woman who has suffered horribly in her past, much of which she refuses to really think about.  She dreams about her childhood and wakes up shaken and denying that she is broken or damaged.  Her past has only increased her determination to make something of herself and her chosen way to do that is to ensure that the dead get justice.  Eve is a homicide detective and she is among the best there is...this is why she is hand picked to take over the case of a high-profile murder that threatens to bring political heat down on the heads of all those involved.  

The murder victim is a licensed companion, a prostitute, as well as the granddaughter of a very conservative senator with whom she had a falling out years before.  Her chosen profession along with her relationship to the senator puts Eve and her colleagues in the spotlight not only of the senator who has no problems pulling strings and calling in favors but also with the news media.  Neither spotlight is comfortable for Eve.  Nor is her attraction to one of the prime suspects, Roarke.

Ah, Roarke.  What a fabulous male lead...he is mysterious, uber-rich, has a sexy accent, and has great repartee with Eve.  I really enjoyed the interactions between Eve and Roarke and seeing Eve slowly lower her shields even when she didn't always mean to.  She doesn't lose any of her strength, but she does learn to lean on Roarke's at times.  Roarke doesn't make things easy for Eve because easy isn't what she wants nor is it anything that Roarke could ever be.  Watching them both fall for each other was the best part of the book for me.

One of the many things I appreciated about the writing is the fact that every character feels real, even the most minor.  The attention to details that allows for this is amazing--each character gets fleshed out, even if they are only in a scene or two.  This made me very invested in figuring out who was the murderer and I was very satisfied with the who-done-it, although I did guess it before the book was over which I wasn't expecting.  It didn't take any of my enjoyment away, though.  After I finished reading the first book I immediately went searching for book two.  I couldn't wait to spend more time with these fabulous characters!

This book rates a 5/5.

I borrowed this book from my local public library.

No comments:

Post a Comment